Revision as of 23:11, 1 May 2012

FamilySearch's Genealogy Research Communities (GRCs) create a place where people can get assistance with their research questions. Each area has one or more volunteers who help with the administration of the page and/or community. You can volunteer to be an administrator, if you want to be more involved. You can also help by visiting a community to join in on the conversation. Click one of the links above for a listing of available communities on each platform. The title of the volunteer may differ depending on the social media platform (e.g. "Admin" on Facebook pages, "Manager" on Google+ pages), but for consistency we often use the term administrator. Currently, Facebook and Skype have the largest community presence; although, the communities are growing on Google+, Twitter, forums, and this wiki. Volunteers do an incredible work to help people with their research in all areas of the world.

Sharing news, events, resources, and information about genealogy research in this area

Remeber the community is not confined to the platform (Facebook, Google+ etc.). You can invite local organizations--such as libraries, archives, and societies--to share news and events on the page.

Help the community members adhere to the following policies:

Keep group discourse civil and polite at all times.

All posts should be genealogy-related and off-topic posts will be removed.

All discussions should be kept neutral and non-denominational. (LDS-specific discussions should not take place in these groups.)

Join our group of community administrators, and connect with the volunteers of your specific community (we hope that each group will eventually have 2-3 admins).

If you must leave as a community administrator, please help us find someone else to take your place.

Best practices for a genealogy community administrator

As a volunteer administrator for a FamilySearch Genealogy Research Community you are in a position to reach thousands of individuals and provide helpful research resources. There are countless blogs and classes available online which are available to help define best practices for social media. These best practices can change on a regular basis as the tools we use for social media continue to evolve. The following resources will help you stay up to date with this ever changing world:

Join the Genealogy Research Community Admins Facebook group (membership in this group is included with volunteering as a FamilySearch Genealogy Research Community admin)

Volunteer administrator training

MeetingPlace webinars

Each Saturday and Tuesday, a training webinar is held to teach about the different things that can be done with a Facebook page.

Though the FamilySearch pages may often be referred to in these discussions, these trainings are open to the general public. If you are an administrator of a genealogy-related page on Facebook, you are welcome to attend! Simply request to become a community administrator and, under the "Suggest a new community" question, type "Genealogy Research Community Admins group only."

In the bottom section, find the meeting on the date of the meeting you want to watch.

Click on the numberto go to the meeting room.

Click on Attachments/Recordings on the right side of the screen.

Click on the WebRecording link.

Platform overviews

The following platform overviews vary in thoroughness, but each provides important understanding of what each platform offers. As a volunteer, you will help more people when you understand how each platform works. Click a heading for more detail on using the platform for genealogy.

Besides learning how the GRC group chats were first started, these videos will show you how to add one of the GRC chats to your contacts. Remember, you must be first added to the chat by someone who is already in the group chat.

This web site offers thorough tutorials for the Wiki and several other FamilySearch products.

Screencasts (5 minute videos)

Recordings of the the webinars are available for at least a week afterward, but in the world of social media things change at a rapid pace. For that reason, and for your convenience, links to 5 minute trainings will be provided here. As these become obsolete they will also be updated.

Handouts and other resources

Expert advice from social media professionals and enthusiasts adapted for our genealogy research community volunteers